U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,034 (“the '034 patent”) describes a reciprocating slat conveyor system that is adapted to carry loads like asphalt. Each reciprocating slat described in the '034 patent has an inverted “V” shape that creates a series of peaks and valleys from one lateral side of the conveyor to the other. This design is typically built into the floor of a truck trailer. It is common to have a gap or “trough” on each lateral side of the slats, between the outer-most reciprocating slat and the trailer's wall. When carrying and unloading certain kinds of material, the trough tends to hold or capture the material in a way such that the floor will not clean out completely as the reciprocating slats inch the load out the back of the trailer.
The clean-out problem is linked to the type of material hauled by the conveyor. Reciprocating slat conveyors were originally developed to haul silage and similar materials that held together, almost like a loaf, as the load was inched off the trailer. Clean-out was not a significant problem with these older uses.
In more recent years, these types of conveyors have been used in trailers designed to carry heavy loads consisting of rock and other looser materials like gravel or even grain. The design described in the '034 patent is an example of a more recent design for these newer load-carrying applications. Loose material like gravel or small rock sometimes becomes trapped between the edge of the conveyor system and the base of the trailer's side wall. The loose material then tends to grind structural elements as the outer-most slats reciprocate back and forth next to the trailer's side wall.
Good trailer bed clean-out is desirable for different reasons. First, the hauler wants the floor swept clean, particularly when the same trailer (with a reciprocating slat system) is used to haul different kinds of loads. Second, good clean-out addresses the grinding problem described above.
The design described here is an improvement to the clean-out problem described above.